"And in those simple beautiful movements I remembered what was really important in training; that consistency trumps intensity; all the time. That intensity is born from consistency. That one cannot force it, one has to lay in wait for it, patiently, instinctively, calmly and be ready to grab it when Grace lays it down in front of you."

Monday, October 31, 2016

This was strong too. Much stronger than anticipated and way better than last week, that's for sure. It didn't feel heavy and I had 5's in me today
Was sore this morning( more stiff than sore, really) and got a good stretch roll this morning as well as some getups to tall sit with bodyweight as well as 10 and 12 kg.Being tight in the hammies in the AM does not help my tall sit position,lol. But I am digging playing around with this move now though
Do have to be careful of my low back though as I did feel it in an old familiar way " just a bit". It's the flexion rotatation so I will be carefulNo exercise is worth going back to that!

found the grip and width during the stick reps that took all the pressure off the biceps tendon so i went with that in the actual press and it worked great! SO much easier to press when I don't feel any weirdness in the shoulder at the start

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Walked out this morning to this beautiful sky, Much better in person, too. Beautiful deep, dark rich storm clouds brewing, and I didn't know if I would make it the whole ruck without getting soaked and I left my jacket in the house.

I thought I had a poncho in the ruck but I wasn't sure, But I did and I needed it in a bit
Body all good from yesterday which I can barely believe but it is a great sign. Hardly need to stretch or roll out, but I do, I feel as square plumb and neutral as I ever can remember being and the total body experience of it is great. And, as predicted, the more squared up I am the less I hurt and the less bodywork I need,

And the more physical work I can do with less ramifications. Not bad for a soon to be 60 year old old war horse,

faster than expected and easier too. Wasn't going to time any laps as I just wanted a nice break in ruck but things were going so well I got curious.
No trouble at all stepping on the gas a bit on the last lap to get a good time

Bar presses again and it's time to up the weight to 130 or 135 again.

Been practicing getups at home too. bodyweight and with 10-12 kg and that's really going well. Just a few reps a day everyday. but between my shoulders feeling way more mobile and figuring out some details to make it fit my body I'm excited about it. Just to the tall sit but that's the hard part for me

Saturday, October 29, 2016

These went WAY better than expected. Perhaps I did cross a threshold on that 44 kg test. I expected at least grip issues or wind but neither occurred and power was solid too. I absolutely could have done tens, but it was a smart idea not too.

Bell felt light, moved fast and didn't throw me around at all.Took awhile to get my legs locked out solidly ( couldn't feel that, had to be cued) but once I locked in it was fine

Also, started out with my legs too close and once I widened the stance all was well

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Felt good to be back on schedule and the ruck on my back, Stayed with 50 lbs as I've missed a few days. but the weight felt light and the ruck was not hard - not going to say easy- even though it was just an hour.The top end of anything, strength, speed or endurance, always comes off fast and while my legs felt fine, I was ready for lunch after 4 laps. Got my 6 and know that I'll be ready for 12 come Sunday.

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Surprisingly strong and easy set today. I was expecting to be more stiff and deconditioned but everything was fine. I was a bit stiff in the hips but that shook off quickly. No double breathing necessary and power was up on all sets.

Thinking about going up to the 28 kg at least every other workout. Our weak link right now is not speed strength but strength speed and I think the 28 will transfer more to that. The key is making sure we recover. Hence perhaps every other week but we will see

24 kg Speed swings
15:15
12 min
240 reps
12,720 reps

very powerful and strong.

Sandbag lunges
4 laps of 20 steps.

tough balance wise but leg strength good

Parallel bar pushups

3 sets of 25
strong again! shoulders not achey today

side delts
3 sets of 12 with 15 lbs

BW 162.2
BF 11.9W 56.8

solid day. feel back on the right time zone
ruck tomorrow then who knows what on Saturday. Probably a 5-10 rep ladder with the 48

Monday, October 24, 2016

Feeling pretty decent for less than 4 hours sleep and teaching nonstop from Friday through Sunday. This cert I demonstrated more than I ever have in any course. I did every drill and skill and taught all six movements as I was the only teacher. It's a long day and I did indeed feel All Day Strong :)

It's more than a good feeling for me; it's a freakin' miracle and I don't forget that. Plus thousands of walking steps per day dozens of trips up and down a long staircase to the Exceed training area for the cert. No problems, no pain. Amazing :)

It was a great group, really strong and prepared and that always makes it so much easier. Plus, plenty of good questions which is also always good.

I really feel like I fell into a seriously good groove this weekend, teaching wise. I was more relaxed and "myself" than ever. My fourth cert and I'm finding my voice.

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

This was amazingly strong! The strongest and easiest 15 minute ever. Was hard to believe. It seemed like I crossed a threshold with last weeks test. Just like when I was bike racing and for a long time everything up to 100 miles with seriously hard. Then, after I did 100 mile ride things got much easier across the board after that

Maybe it was just a good day but it felt great

Speed swings
15:15
24 kg
15 min
30 sets
300 reps
15,900 lbs

Walking BW lunges
4 laps of 40 steps unbroken
ok THIS is going to be where we get a lot of our lactic acid quad training in. Need to up this game for real for the 48 kg test.BUT we will need to rest more between sets

Parallel bar pushups
25
25
20

speaking of lactic acid! serious pump

Rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 20 lbs

love these still

BW 163.4
BF 12.1
W 56.2

ok that's weird. everything seems to have re normalized BACK to where they were in keto and semi keto
the body loves homeostasis :)

Ok off tomorrow for NYC for a SMK level 1 Cert. This will be great I am really looking forwards to teaching the stuff I love so much The Way of the kettlebell.

Monday, October 17, 2016

Didn't really know what to expect today. Body still felt fine but a little DOMS started to creep in, finally. Right hamstring was a little tight but I rolled it out. But I did realize what a peak it's been and didn't want to get greedy.

this was better than expected but I had some tightness problems for a few sets/reps. Lost my glutes on a few reps and had to re adjust. haven't done that in awhile
arch was ok but I was front panel tighter than usual
ball back bends helped
I could have done at least 3 sets of 5 reps but did NOT want to grind at all today.
this was plenty and always good to have plates on :)

32 kg Belt squats
32 x 12, 14, 16, 18

One realization from the test was that I need to work more lactic acid tolerance for my quads. They were screaming more than anything at the end. that and glutes but mainly quads. Have to do high reps on the belt squats and time to take the lunge work up BUT how to do that and not overtrain my CNS is the issue.

Sunday, October 16, 2016

Ah yes, NO SORENESS from the test yesterday. Perfect. Other than a little bit of a hangover from too much celebratory wine but that doesn't count.
In fact I felt like I hadn't even trained, even better.

Also first rains of the season so I got nice and wet and the air is so clean cool and crisp. Love it

took it nice and steady today and didn't time any laps, a first actually. Still riding the high from achieving my goal.

Saturday, October 15, 2016

1) Do not get hurt
2) Finish
3) Don't howl like a wounded buffalo the last half

I got 2 /3 out of three- got to howling just a bit the last two sets but this was GOOD!

I had a feeling it should be a strong test, based on my training and conditioning and overall mental confidence but you just never know when you put things to the test; almost anything can happen and murphy's law is still murphy's law

But it all went well. There are a few reps I wouldn't count , height wise but this was way stronger that the last five minute test with the 40 kg. It should be given all the training since then ( six months ago) but, again, one never knows.

Just point in fact, I HATE doing these. They always suck in some way. Five minutes of high intensity work is precisely my weakest energy system and always has been. I can ruck hard for two hours or do ONE super heavy rep but five minutes? Even with a light bell always, always hurts.

But again, it is way stronger than before AND I can now see that I can do the 48 for five minutes on my birthday in another six months

ALL the guys got their reps in too which is awesome ,especially for Glenn as we are the two silverbacks in the group and showed the young bucks that not only can we keep up but we can push them :)
He earned every bit of it though. Best training partner ever, thanks man :) Semper fi indeed.

The hardest part of course were the last five minutes and even more specifically the last 4 sets. power started to go down and breath was hard to come by. I really focused on following the bell and keeping back swing speed as high as I felt I could handle.

Let the bell swing and stomp on the gas at the right time to maximize power.
But man there was so little air :)

The bell is 60% of my bodyweight :)
As usual though my quads and glutes were the ones with the most lactic acid. Lower back is fine and grip was too

Friday, October 14, 2016

Yesterday's ruck was surprisingly strong. Didn't time any laps until the last one ( couldn't help myself ) but they all felt about the same.
Last lap was 7:43
Legs felt loose and solid, lungs good and ruck light.
All systems go

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

Last kb workout before Sat test and it couldn't have gone better. 20 sets of 10 in 15:15 and each set was strong powerful and fast. Lungs were great, no double breathing and mind set was solid.I feel confident. Of course anything can happen but I don't think I could be more prepared.

24 kg speed swings
15:15
10 min
200 reps
10,600 lbs

when I got to the five minute mark I was thinking "man, the test will be over by now and I feel fine". Of course the bell will be much heavier but it felt good to feel that!

Monday, October 10, 2016

Stronger than I expected to be. I was hoping 130 for triples but I got all five sets of five. The last one, which I videoed, the left biceps tendon moved a bit on the first rep( the first time that happened all workout) so it set my groove off a bit but otherwise it wasn't that hard

Mil Press
stick x 5
65 x 5
85 x 5
105 x 3
120 x 3
130 x 5 x 5

44 kg belt squats
12, 14, 16, 20

non stop reps.feeling strong

Floor pushups
3 sets of 30

had another set of 15 + in there too. strength and endurance comeback from the trip is good!

crawls
3 sets of 70 ft

strong here too

rear delts
3 sets of 10 with 20's

BW 162.6
BF 11.7
W 57.3

definitely seems like adding in some carbs in the evening is working on all fronts. weight down, fat down strength and endurance up/
Intermittent fasting + slow/low carb high fat/ fiber is the ticket

Sunday, October 09, 2016

I was hoping today's ruck would be strong and fast and it was. Way better than expected too. I did feel a bit stiff when I got up this morning but that shook off quickly. Plenty of sleep and it was 57 degrees so nice and crisp

Knew I was going to time three interval laps today so I set my mind on really pushing them all something I've not done before. Each laps takes about 7-8 min so it's a little longer than the test set but though it would be good mind and lung practice to go hard three times

Man! I was moving fast. I went for 3:30 or under for the half lap and got through the first half at 3:22 but must have sped up. Really pushed myself and lungs felt easy but I don't know if I can move these short legs any faster!

Saturday, October 08, 2016

I was nervous about this because I feel so strong. I didn't want to get overconfident and tweak something just because I felt good and it was only 5 rep sets
So I didn't but it was hard to "relax" into the workout. The test is coming up next week and hopefully everything will go as planned. We shall see though but, mentally, it doesn't scare me. I respect it, of course, but I'm not scared because I think I am ready.

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

This went very well. Slept very well last night which, of course make a huge difference. One bad nights sleep wrecks my next day training now where before it didn't so much.Course I wasn't doing this stuff then either.

24 kg Speed swings
15 min
30 sets
300 reps
15,900 lbs

cardio was strong today. Didn't double breathe except for a few reps on a few sets. Good power output throughout too. Didn't look at the clock until 11 min had past. Pretty calm and fluid, I just let myself fall into the groove.

Monday, October 03, 2016

Woke up at 12:30 am last night and never really got back to sleep. I knew I would pay for it in the workout later and I did. Not quite as badly as I feared but close. No sleep doesn't take as much a toll on my top end strength as it does my endurance.

Plus I had missed last weeks pressing so I knew the weights would feel heavy. And they did not disappoint. But after a lot of remedial sets things started to normalize, as I also knew they would

did back bends over the stability ball again to warmup and again it helped tremendously- I could get my arch much quicker and less stiffness

40 kg belt squat
5 sets of 10 strict.

I knew more than 10 rep sets would fatigue me too fast. this felt perfect. energy much better than at start
Didn't help it was cold and wet today. Very happy for the rain but not the best energy when I'm tired to begin with. Again, just shut up and go. :)

Floor pushups
25
20
15
15

had visions of sets of 30 but after the first set it was clear that wasn't a good idea. Very easy stops

Sunday, October 02, 2016

I don't know how, or why but I woke up this morning feeling like I had done nothing yesterday. Nothing was sore, tight or ached at all. Incredible , can't explain it but I'll take it.
And my legs felt loose and strong at the same time as I started my ruck, and the weight felt like nothing.Crazy
I decided to try to not time any laps this morning and just let myself establish a steady, easy pace and I did it! Finished in just about the same time as always so my extra fast timed laps must balance out the slower post timed intervals. 1 hour and 55 minutes but it was SO nice to just cruise along.After yesterday's CNS stimulation I definitely didn't feel like driving hard to make a time lap.

Probably will only do those on the low rep days or alternate weeks if I change that strategy after the upcoming 44 kg test, which will probably happen. Not sure to what yet. depends on how the test goes.

Nice cool overcast morning. Fall is coming and I can't wait.

50 lb ruck
12 laps
10 isometric squat holds
1 hr 55 min

BW 163.4
BF 10.4 !!!!
W 57.9 ~!

Must be the carbs but it feels great

SO, the diet looks like this:

AM Intermittent Fast
Meal one : veg proteinMeal two slow carb protein

intertwined with wine, lots of fats and coffee

ok back to presses tomorrow. not sure what I'm going to do but probably heavy for low reps

Saturday, October 01, 2016

This is Croatian for " Stop whining, Work!" and is on the front of the shirt I'm wearing in the video ,given to me by Aleksandar Miketa of Center Miketa in Rijecka Croatia. An SMK Sr. Instructor and one the best instructors I know.

It summed up my attitude towards today's training. I was a bit more nervous than usual from missing last weeks workout with the 48 and in general all workouts last week.

I was hoping it wouldn't wreck me and it didn't. In fact, while today wasn't the strongest ever session it was easily in 2nd or 3rd place. Shows me I am ready to test in two weeks

The first five sets were some of the all time best! I could tell when I did my first hike pass the bell felt LIGHT! that it was going to be ok. Surprisingly it was my grip that was the main source of weakness during the workout. That and a little power shortage at the end but over all no problem

AND very happy to see I am doing my ten reps in 15 seconds! solid pace. excellent.

My Mantra was just "shut up" as I stepped onto the platform. Energy was solid, wind was solid groove was strong, just a little in the left hand grip
I also finished the last two sets starting on the right. It's just stronger that way when I'm tired to begin with. I will start on my right arm for the test so I can finish on the left hand

VERY happy with this session

Barbell hacks
65 x 6
95 x 6
115 x 6
135 x 6

time to go up this is getting easy

Sandbag pushups
bw x 12
32 x 12 x 3

solid too

rear delts
3 sets of 12 with 15/s

almost too light now for rears

BW 162.4
BF 11.4
W 57.2

had brown rice last night and it was perfect . Rice and grassfed butter! YUM
going to focus on intermittment fast til my first meal of veg egg stir fry then go back a carb based whole grain meal ( rice oats or beans) for second mea. Of course wine and cold water fish in there too.
Off yoghurt for awhile making me gassy